


The Little Ensign

by GemmaTheBrunchmaster



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:47:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27054391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaTheBrunchmaster/pseuds/GemmaTheBrunchmaster
Summary: As a young Kasey James boards the Enterprise, she wonders if she'll be able to find a home here.She slowly finds out, as she navigates through her life as a little Ensign, that she's had a home here from the moment she made her first friends.
Relationships: Data (Star Trek)/Reader, Data/OC
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. The Little Ensign - Part 1

The young girl stepped aboard the Enterprise-D.

A small 14 year old amongst an onslaught of new recruits much older than her.

There must've been 50 others boarding the Enterprise with her, perhaps more. She'd be lying if she said this wasn't intimidating her at all, but she'd come this far and wasn't about to give up now; So what if every other Ensign, Lieutenant, or other was much older than her?

She was Kasey James, and she wasn't going to let that frighten her.

Young Kasey had an interesting situation on her hands. She had finished high school when most children her age were barely starting middle school. She was, essentially, a genius.

She had enrolled in the academy fresh out of high school and decided to become an engineer. She always liked to tinker with things, and often found herself intrigued by mechanics and statistics. And naturally, she was quite shocked when she was told she was being assigned to the Enterprise. This was quite the opportunity for such a young girl, genius or not, and she was excited.

But excitement soon turned to dread for the young Ensign James, for as she boarded the Enterprise, she began to ponder. This may have been a good career opportunity, but would she really fit in here and find a home amongst the crew?


	2. The Little Ensign - Part 2

She had been here for a total of two hours and she already hated it here, she could feel the judgmental stares from her peers as she roamed the ship. Our young Kasey James had already met Captain Picard and William Riker, and the next thing on her agenda was to report to sickbay for a physical.

However, there was a problem, she had no idea where the sickbay was. You'd think someone as smart as her would be able to figure out where it was, but alas, she was lost.

So what did she do? She asked the computer for directions. It seemed like an alright idea at the time, since she clearly hadn't factored in her awful sense of direction. She looked around, completely perplexed, this did not look like sickbay. "Computer, where am I?" She inquired curiously. "Main Engineering." Came it's reply. She furrowed her brow, thoroughly confused now. She hadn't expected to end up even further away from her destination, much less in engineering.

To her surprise, a certain Chief Engineer rounded the corner, an amused smirk gracing his features. "Lost, Ensign?" His amused, yet almost smug, voice cut through the noise of the present surroundings. She chuckled sheepishly, giving an awkward smile. "Maybe a little." She admitted. The man gave an understanding smile before introducing himself. "I'm Geordi La Forge, the Chief Engineer, Where were you headed Ensign?" He questioned. "I was uh headed to sickbay for a mandatory physical." She replied, eyes widening in astonishment, he was Geordi La Forge, the Chief Engineer, the Boss of Engineering, the Head Honcho, the Big Cheese, the--

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a man poking his head around the corner. "Geordi, Lieutenant Markell requires your assistance." The man spoke in a calm, soothing tone. Geordi nodded to the man in question before responding. "Data, while I go help Lieutenant Markell, would you mind showing the little Ensign here to sickbay? She got lost on the way there." He chuckled, flashing a quick, yet friendly smile to the young Ensign before heading off to go assist the Lieutenant.

The man- Data, turned his attention to Kasey, his head quirking to the side in an almost confused manner. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on in that head of his. "You are going to sickbay?" he inquired. She answered with a simple nod. "Fascinating." He mused, seemingly intrigued by the concept. "How so?" She queried. He paused for a moment before replying. "Your destination was sickbay, however, you did not arrive there, you instead ended up in Engineering, which is quite far from your intended place of arrival." She sighed. "Yeah yeah my sense of direction is horrible, I even had help from the computer and I still ended up here." He processed this information for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement. "Shall we go then?" She asked, attempting to steer the conversation from her sense of direction. He nodded in agreement, grabbing her sleeve before starting off in the direction of the turbolift.

"Sir, why are you holding my sleeve?" She questioned, raising a brow. He turned his head, looking back at her as they waited for the lift. "Did you not say that you have a bad sense of direction?" He answered, quirking his head to the side in the same confused manner as before. "Well yeah but.. I can probably follow you without getting lost, I don't think I'm that bad at directions." She muttered, a slight scowl on her face. He pondered this for a moment, stepping into the turbolift. "Deck two." He stated, the lift beginning to move. The two of them stood in an awkward silence until the doors opened. He exited with an irritated Kasey still in tow.

She stared at his hand that was holding her sleeve. He was treating her like a child, of course he was. How stupid could she be to think that maybe someone would see her as an equal, not just a little girl trying to be an adult. Honestly, she should have known better than to--

"Ensign?" A voice brought her out of her thoughts. "You appear upset, have I offended you in some manner?" Data inquired, raising an eyebrow. "No, I'm fine." She lied. He tilted his head to the side, seemingly pondering something. "My research of human behavior has led be to believe that you are being untruthful." He concluded. 

Research of.. human behavior? Yikes, he speaks like he's not human. 

Wait. 

Wasn't there an android on this ship?

And didn't Lieutenant Commander La Forge refer to him as Data..?

Oh.

"You're an android." She stated flatly. "Yes, are not all personnel on the ship aware of that fact?" He questioned. She pressed her lips into a thin line before responding. "I knew there was an android on the ship, however, I had no idea it was you." "Intriguing. How is it that you could not tell, am I not far different than humans?" He queried, tilting his head. "I don't know, maybe you're just a lot more human than I expected." She mused. He seemed to ponder on this for a moment before nodding and continuing to walk.

Her gaze shifted back to his hand that was holding her sleeve. She sort of understood why he grabbed her sleeve now. It wasn't because he was treating her like a child, she simply got lost a lot and he thought of that as the proper solution to the problem. She couldn't blame him, he didn't know how she felt about it. And if she was being completely honest, she'd found that she didn't really mind anymore.

"Ensign, we have arrived at sickbay." He stated, letting go of her sleeve. She looked up, her arm falling to her side. "Thank you Lieutenant Commander." She gave an awkward smile before entering the sickbay.

Meanwhile, Data stood outside the door a moment longer, still pondering on what she had said earlier. The android in question had found this young Ensign to be quite intriguing, he would have to ask Geordi about her later.


	3. The Little Ensign - Part 3

She had been on board for a total of 8 hours, and while she felt a little bit better about everything, she still hated it here. She waited on the bed as Doctor Crusher finished up her physical. She never was a big fan of doctors, but found that she didn't mind Doctor Crusher as much as she did others. "You're all set Ensign James." The voice of said doctor snapped her out of her thoughts. "Thanks Doctor." She flashed a slight smile as she stood up from the bed.

What now? She wondered as she exited the sickbay. She still didn't know where anything was so there wasn't any point in trying to get somewhere specific. Might as well just wander around, her first shift didn't start until 0800 tomorrow and it was only about 1400 at the moment. 

So wander she did, she spent a good hour looking around and poking her head into different rooms before she finally stumbled upon a rather lively looking place. It seemed to be a recreational room of some sort. She wandered over to the bar and sat down, where she was met by a kind looking woman with an interesting hat. 

"I haven't seen you here before." She paused to glance at the Ensign's uniform "Are you with the new staff?" Her calm, soothing voice spoke through the noisy conversations of the other crewmates. The younger girl simply responded with a curt nod. "I'm Guinan, what's your name kid?" The woman asked, the corners of her lips turning up into a faint smile. "I'm Kasey." She answered, fidgeting her thumbs. "Well then Kasey, can I get you anything to drink?" Guinan offered, an eyebrow raised. The younger woman shook her head in reply. "No thank you."

The young Ensign sat in silence, thinking over the prior events of the day. How embarrassing, honestly, who gets lost on their first day? She's supposed to be a genius and she can't even find the sickbay, jeez what a-- 

She was pulled from her thinking by a familiar voice. "Ensign, pardon me if this is a personal question, but how old are you?" Guinan was now back to her spot across from Kasey, raising both eyebrows as she inquired. "I'm fourteen years, three months, six days, thirteen hours and twenty-something minutes old." The blonde stated dryly, pressing her lips into a thin line. Of course she'd ask that, someone was bound to eventually. "Fourteen? My, that's quite young to be an Ensign. Tell me, how did you manage that?" The older woman smiled as she leaned closer to listen.

Meanwhile, down in Engineering, Data found himself thinking of the young girl. He had been quite intrigued by her and his mind kept wandering back to what she had said. 'Maybe you're just a lot more human than I expected.' That's what she had told him, perhaps his efforts to be more human have been paying off? He should probably get Geordi's opinion on the matter.

"Data, are you alright? You look a little out of it." Came the voice of the Chief Engineer in question, snapping him out of his thoughts. "I believe I am functioning within normal perimeters Geordi. However, I do find myself to be somewhat distracted." At this, Geordi snapped his head up to look at him. "Distracted? By what, Data?" "I have found myself analyzing an earlier interaction with a crewmate." This caused Geordi to raise an eyebrow before questioning him further. "Which crewmate?" The android quirked his head to the side before answering. "I am unsure of her name, but she is the directionally challenged Ensign who got lost on her way to sickbay earlier. I find her to be quite intriguing." 

"So what is it that happened that you keep thinking about Data?" "She told me that I am 'more human than she expected'. This has caused me to hypothesize that perhaps my endeavors to become more human have been effective." Geordi chuckled, a smile gracing his lips. "Well Data, I think you're right, you're always getting more human each day." Data processed this for a moment before quirking the corner of his lip into a slight smile.

"And then I got assigned to The Enterprise and that's how I got here." Kasey finished, recounting the last of her story to Guinan. "Wow, that's quite the experience." She smiled, raising her eyebrows briefly. "Kasey, have you met with the ship's counselor yet?" "I didn't know there was a counselor." The Ensign raised an eyebrow. "Well there is, she's right over there." Guinan paused to point at a pretty, young woman with black curly hair. "Her name is Deanna Troi, why don't you go on over and say hello?" She gestured for Kasey to go talk to her. 

The blonde cautiously made her way over to where the counselor was sitting. "Hi, I'm Ensign Kasey James, you're the ship's counselor right?" She introduced herself, awkwardly fidgeting with her thumbs. The woman smiled. "Yes, I'm counselor Troi, please have a seat Ensign." She mumbled a soft thanks before sitting down across from the counselor. "How are you liking the Enterprise so far, Ensign?" "I uh, It's um— It's nice." Kasey managed a stuttered reply, cursing inwardly. 'It's nice'!? What a dim-witted reply, it's no wonder people don't think you're grown up enough to be here. "I can sense your anxieties Ensign." The counselor smiled softly. "Is there something in particular that you want to talk about?" "Well.." She let out a sigh. "There is one thing, but it's not really important. It's silly really." "If it's bothering you Ensign, then I don't think it's silly." 

The Ensign bit her lip slightly, sighing. "I mean, I guess I just sort of feel like I don't belong here." "How come?" "I don't know... I mean, I'm just a kid. Am I really good enough to be an engineer on a starship?" She paused a moment, a frown on her features. "I hear some of the other crew whispering about me sometimes. About how I couldn't possibly be smart enough to be here at my age, and that I probably bribed my way here." She finished, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Well Ensign, the fact that you're here proves that you're plenty smart enough. And I'm sure you wouldn't be able to bribe your way into the Enterprise even if you tried." The counselor chuckled. "My advice is to try your best to ignore their whispers for now and prove them wrong through your actions, show them that you're smart enough to help get this ship through her worst of times. And Ensign, age does not equal knowledge." The counselor concluded, a delicate smile gracing her lips.

Kasey smiled, an awkward, but genuine smile. "Thank you counselor Troi, that actually really helps a lot." She smiled back. "I'm glad I could help Ensign." The counselor looked at her watch for a moment. "It's been a pleasure meeting you Kasey, but I'm afraid I have an appointment in just a few minutes." She chuckled, standing to leave. "Of course, it was a pleasure to meet you as well counselor." The blonde nodded in response. 

After the counselor left, Kasey stood, wandering back to her place at the bar. "How did it go?" A familiar voice spoke, causing the Ensign to look up from the counter. "It went surprisingly well, I feel a bit better about everything now." Guinan smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Can I get you anything Kasey?" A thoughtful look washed over the girl in question, as if she was debating something. After a moments thought she came to a conclusion. "Um chocolate milk please." she mumbled bashfully, a delicate, rosy blush painting her cheeks. This caused the older woman to chuckle before going to retrieve a chocolate milk. 

Geordi and Data arrived at Ten Forward, chatting about the day's earlier events. Geordi scanned the room, only half listening to Data's babbling, when he spotted Kasey at the bar. "Data, look, It's that 'directionally challenged Ensign' you were talking about earlier." He gestured in her direction, causing Data to turn his attention to the girl in question. "Why don't we go on over and say hello? It's her first day so she probably hasn't met many people yet." Data simply nodded in agreement, following Geordi to the bar where the Ensign was.

Kasey was cheerfully chatting away with Guinan, a pleasant contrast to her earlier bad mood, when Geordi and Data approached the bar, sitting on either side of her. Kasey managed a quick glance to both of them while Guinan greeted them. She had smiled at them fondly, she seemed to know them pretty well. Maybe they come here often, Kasey pondered to herself, sipping on her chocolate milk.

Geordi nudged the Ensign gently. "I don't think we've formally introduced ourselves, I'm Geordi La Forge and this is Data." He smiled. Kasey glanced at the two of them again, remembering the incident from earlier. She gave an awkward chuckle. "I'm Kasey It's uh nice to meet you." The Ensign fidgeted with her thumbs, wanting nothing more than to get away from this awkward interaction. "So Ensign, I'm surprised you managed to find your way to Ten-Forward, how did you do it?" He smirked, chuckling. Kasey pressed her lips into a thin line. "I was just wandering, I didn't even know this place existed." She remarked dryly. She was getting more exasperated with the Chief Engineer with each passing second.

"Now now, don't pick on Kasey." Guinan placed Geordi's drink in front of him. "She's only been here for half a day, you wouldn't want her to put in a transfer request already, would you?" The woman chuckled, leaning on the bar counter. "Oh alright Guinan, I'll play nice." Geordi snickered, taking a sip of his drink. "Do you want another drink Kasey?" Guinan asked the Ensign who was now toying with the straw in her empty chocolate milk glass. Kasey looked up from her glass, mumbling a soft 'yes please'. The woman smiled at her timidity, heading over to the replicator to get another glass of chocolate milk.

Half an hour passed, along with several failed attempts from Geordi to start a conversation.

("So Ensign, how old are you?" "14." -- "How did you manage to get to be an engineer that young?" "long story, maybe i'll tell you someday" -- "Geordi i do not believe the Ensign wants to talk" "wow Data what would possibly make u say that its not like shes been shooting down my attempts to make smalltalk" "but Geordi??? That is literally exactly what she is doing???")

"Ensign, are we making you uncomfortable?" Data finally spoke up, raising an eyebrow. Kasey turned her head to Data. "Honestly? Yeah, but I've been uncomfortable almost the entire time I've been here." She took a long sip of her chocolate milk. "Would you prefer if Geordi and I left you alone?" The android tilted his head. "Yes but like, it's fine. I have to get used to being around my coworkers sooner or later." The Ensign sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Geordi raised a brow. "So does this mean you're gonna tell us how you got here?" He smirked. "I too would like to know." Data looked at her curiously. Kasey rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Fine." She sighed, beginning her tale of how she came to be here.

Hours passed. Kasey finished her story, They all talked for a while, Geordi left to get some sleep, and Data rambled on about something technical, as Kasey listened intently.

Kasey stood up from her seat, only to stretch her legs, as Data finished his ramble. "Ensign?" The android quirked his head to the side. "May I ask you a question?" "Sure, ask away." The Ensign leaned on the bar counter as she stood. "I have been thinking about what you said earlier, that I am 'more human than you had expected'." He paused for a moment, as if he was thinking of the right words to say next. "What is it that you were anticipating?"

"Well, when I think of androids, I think of like a robotic person that just does what people tells it to, can't think for itself, and doesn't feel anything." Data furrowed his brows, looking almost confused. "Fascinating." He whispered. "How is it that I do not fit those criteria?" The Ensign's eyebrows raised in shock. "You're kidding right?" She took a long sip of her 5th chocolate milk of the night before preparing to answer. "Well for one, you look very human. I did think you looked a bit pale but like, It's just your skin tone, people have been pale before so I just thought maybe you didn't get a lot of sun." The android listened curiously as she spoke. "Secondly, you can clearly think for yourself, nobody told to you think about what I said earlier, but you did anyway." She paused for another sip of chocolate milk. "Thirdly, It's pretty clear to me that you feel things."

Data quirked his head to the side. "But Ensign, I do not have feelings or emotions, it is not in my programming."

"What makes you say that?"

"I am unable to process such things as humans do." Kasey raised a brow as she sat back on the stool. "Well I agree with you on that note." This caused Data to furrow his brow. "Is that not contradictory to your earlier statement??" Kasey chuckled, shaking her head. "No, you see, I said you feel things, you said you don't feel things 'as humans do'. And as much as quite a few humans would hate to admit it, 'as humans do' is not the only way to experience or do something." She paused for a brief moment. "It seems to me that you process them in your own way." Data took a moment to think about this. "I still do not fully understand, what is it that causes you to believe this?" "Think of it this way sir, you enjoy the company of your friends, don't you?" He nodded, seemingly unsure of where she was going with this. "I'm no psychologist, but the way I see it, enjoying the company of a friend ultimately stems from liking that person, in a friendly manner of course, which I believe stems from a positive feeling associated with that person. However, I could be wrong, it just seems to me that if you were truly emotionless, you wouldn't be capable of enjoying the friendships you have." She finished, leaving a rather perplexed Data to process this.

"Fascinating." Data whispered, causing Kasey to smile slightly as she sipped on her chocolate milk.

It was silent for a while, but soon enough Data started rambling again. Kasey smiled, listening as he went on and on about something completely random.

An hour passed, Data was still rambling about who knows what and Kasey was standing again, leaning on the bar counter. Data paused his babbling, noting the time. "Ensign, it is 0100 hours, are you not tired?" "0100 hours? It's really that late?" The Ensign rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn. "Perhaps you should retire to your quarters and rest." "If I don't get lost first, that is." She snickered. Data stood, taking her by the sleeve. "I will escort you there so you do not get lost." "Oh- um I- Thanks." Kasey mumbled, her awkwardness resurfacing for a brief moment.

The two of them left Ten-Forward, Data holding Kasey by the sleeve, as they found their way to her quarters.

Data let go of her sleeve as they arrived. The Ensign sleepily punched in the code to her room. "G'night sir." She mumbled through a yawn. "Goodnight Ensign." The android's lips quirked up into a very slight smile as he went to go back to his own quarters. 

Kasey closed the door behind her before wrestling her shoes off and collapsing clumsily onto her bed. She actually had a pretty good time talking with her senior officers, even if La Forge did bring up that whole getting lost incident from earlier.

One thought crossed her mind as she laid in her bed, just before she fell asleep. 

She had only been here for 19 hours. But maybe, just maybe — she didn't quite hate it here anymore.


	4. The Little Ensign - Part 4

The Ensign woke to her alarm, sleepily rolling out of bed and heading to the shower. She showered and got dressed in her uniform. The blonde combed her hair as her eyes lazily roamed over her figure in the mirror. She stared at the replicator, trying to decide what to eat for breakfast, quickly deciding on oatmeal. It wasn't one of her favorite things, but it gave her the energy boost she needed in the morning. She finished eating quickly and put on her shoes. But as she was preparing to leave, her door chimed. She eyed the door, raising an eyebrow, before opening it to reveal the android who had graced her dreams the previous night.

"Sir?" Kasey began. "What are you doing here?" The android quirked his head to the side. "I came to the logical conclusion that you would be unable to find your way to engineering without assistance." The Ensign made a face at him. "So you're going to walk with me then?" "Affirmative." "Well, I guess it can't be helped. Come on, let's go then." She sighed as he took her by the sleeve and dragged her along with him. 

The two of them arrived at engineering, Geordi quickly coming over to greet them. "Good morning you two." The Chief Engineer smiled. "Good morning Geordi." "Morning sir." They replied in near-perfect unison. The three of them swiftly assumed their stations, beginning the day's work.

A couple of hours passed as they worked. It went smoothly aside from the occasional trouble that Kasey had with certain things, either Data or Geordi having to explain it to her.

When Kasey left the area to attend to a piece of machinery that required fixing, Data spoke up. "Geordi, may I inquire about something?" "Of course Data, what is it?" The android paused a brief moment, figuring out how to word it. "Last night, I asked Ensign James what she meant when she told me that I am 'more human than she expected." Geordi nodded, gesturing for him to continue. Data began to relay last night's conversation back to Geordi, taking care to watch for when Kasey would be back.

Geordi listened intently as the android finished talking. "That's an interesting point of view she has, but if you really think about it, it makes sense. You should probably ask Counselor Troi about it though." Data nodded in acknowledgment as Kasey rounded the corner back to her station. Data glanced at the girl before going back to work as usual.

The hours went by rather quickly as the three of them worked, their shift ending in what felt like half the time that had actually passed. 

Kasey glanced at the time, noting that her shift was over. She stayed around a while longer, if only because she had no idea where anything is. As she wondered if she should try to get somewhere specific or just wander around, a certain android came up to her. He stared for a moment at the zoned-out Ensign before speaking. "Ensign James?" The blonde snapped back to reality. "Yes?" "Am I correct in assuming that you require assistance in getting somewhere?" Kasey chuckled sheepishly. "Well you're not wrong, but I'm trying to decide whether I should make an effort to get somewhere specific or just wander around and get myself lost." Data tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "Perhaps I could accompany you and show you a few places?" He offered. "I mean, if it isn't too much trouble, that would be nice." She mumbled out awkwardly. And without a word, Data took her by the sleeve and began pulling her along.

The two of them walked around, Data showing Kasey several places before they stumbled upon one of the holodecks. "What's this one?" She asked, pointing a finger at the holodeck room. "That is a holodeck." She let out a small gasp, her eyes widening. "Wow." A big ol' smile graced her features as she stared in awe. She'd heard of the holodecks before but had never actually seen one. Data noticed her interest, tilting his head to the side. "Would you like me to show you how to program it?" Kasey gasped again, eyes sparkling as she nodded enthusiastically.

After he taught her how to program the holodeck, she had asked if they could hang out in there. He agreed, and they agreed upon one of Data's Sherlock programs. The two of them got dressed in era-appropriate clothing and entered the holodeck.

Meanwhile, at Ten-forward, Geordi was looking for Data. He had disappeared from engineering about an hour ago after their shift had ended. He'd looked everywhere for the android, and he was nowhere to be found. He exited Ten-forward, deciding he'd ask the computer where his android friend was. "Computer, where's Data?" "Lieutenant Commander Data is in holodeck nine." Geordi suddenly realized why he hadn't been able to find him and set off in the direction of holodeck nine.

Geordi entered the holodeck, quickly finding Data. "Geordi?" The android in question quirked his head to the side. "There you are Data, I've been looking everywhere for you. Hanging out in the holodeck?" "Indeed Geordi, would you like to join us?" "..Us?" As if on cue, Kasey poked out from behind the wall of a nearby building, giving Geordi a little wave. "Come be Watson!" The girl enthusiastically shouted, a wide grin on her face. And thus Geordi was roped into their holodeck shenanigans, for how could he resist the antics of his friends?

Geordi quickly changed into proper Watson attire and, within minutes, he was back in the holodeck with his pals, ready to get on with some mystery solving.

A few hours passed, they solved their mystery (it was the barber), had a good time, and headed to Ten-forward, not even bothering to change from their Victorian-era outfits. They sat themselves down at the bar, greeting Guinan, who smiled fondly at the three of them. They laughed and talked about their holodeck adventure, Data not quite understanding what was so funny. The three pals talked for hours, Data informing them at midnight that it was late. He walked them back to their quarters, bidding them goodnight before heading to the Bridge to take the night shift.

The night passed and morning came, and Data found himself en route to Kasey's quarters. And as he chimed her door and walked her to engineering, he replayed last night's memories in his positronic brain, oblivious to the warmth in his chest.


	5. The Little Ensign - Part 5

After dropping Kasey off at her quarters, Data rushed back to his own, eager to begin making chocolates for his best friends. He had been scouring his knowledge banks for the best chocolate recipes throughout the better part of his shift, only the best for his closest friends.

He quickly gathered his ingredients from the replicator and got to work on the chocolates.

Geordi entered his quarters, immediately reaching for his PADD to search for chocolate recipes. Once he settled on a recipe for each of his friends, espresso chocolates for Kasey and orange chocolates for Data, he set to work, making sure to craft each piece with care.

Kasey said goodbye to Data at the door to her quarters, rushing inside and quickly digging out her old chocolate recipe. She made the necessary changes to the recipe, taking care to choose flavors her friends would enjoy. 

She obtained her ingredients and began working on the chocolates, putting as much love and care into them as possible.

The night passed peacefully as each member of the trio made and packaged their chocolates. Each eagerly awaited the morning to come, anxious to see what their friends thought of the chocolates.

Morning came, and Data arrived at Kasey's quarters, a package in tow. As if perfectly on cue, the blonde practically flew out of her quarters, lugging her own package. No words were exchanged, besides a mutual good morning, as they walked together to engineering.

The two of them met Geordi on the way there, greeting him. "Good morning Geordi." The pair said in near-perfect unison. "Morning Data, Kasey." Smiles passed between the three as they said their good-mornings. 

The day passed as usual, uneventful and boring for the most part. At the end of their shift, Data took the liberty of giving them the chocolates he made for them. Geordi and Kasey exchanged the chocolates they made as well, grinning as Data opened both boxes and hurriedly tried a piece from each one. The two exchanged a look and a chuckle as Data began listing the ingredients in each chocolate. They tried a piece from each of their boxes as well, reveling in the rich chocolatey flavors. 

Of the crewmates lingered from the previous shift, and the many arrived for the next shift, some watched the trio exchange chocolates and make plans to hang out at the holodeck. They couldn't help but smile at the three of them as they made their plans. Anyone could tell they adored each other. They were a perfect trio, complete in every way.

As Data walked them to their quarters later that night, bidding them goodnight, he found himself wondering about the warmth in his chest. He was tempted it explore it further, but he decided on being content with simply savoring the feeling.

Geordi said goodnight to Data and Kasey at his door before entering his quarters and settling in for a night of eating chocolates and relaxing. As he popped a chocolate into his mouth, he decided he was a fortunate man indeed to have friends like his.

Kasey bade goodnight to Data when they arrived at her quarters, flashing a soft smile before retreating inside. And as she settled into bed, she took one long look at the chocolates she had placed on her shelf and vaguely wondered to herself, how on earth did she get so lucky?


End file.
